It is said that children’s brains can incredibly learn as many things as possible while they develop, and that’s why it is encouraged to teach young children through play. This element is what attracted Christian Muhoza into the business of creating learning toys. Muhoza, the owner of Chameleon Resources based in Kigali, creates learning materials for young children in the form of toys, and partners with different non-profit organisations to distribute them in schools. The business has three permanent staff and other part-time workers depending on the number of orders available, he explained. However, Muhoza says that he ventured into business, just like many, without extensive knowledge and this made him struggle with different things including bookkeeping and taxes. “But for the past few months in the BK Urumuri Initiative, I have learnt a lot of things such as the accounting, marketing, and customer care aspects of a business and corrected some of the mistakes I have been making,” he added. BK Urumuri Initiative, run by Bank of Kigali in partnership with Inkomoko, allows 25 innovative entrepreneurs selected out of a pool of applicants to instantly gain access to six months of training, consulting and business assessment as well as get a chance to compete for zero-interest loans offered by Bank of Kigali for their business development. It provides training sessions that help participants increase their knowledge on how to better run their businesses, with a one-on-one coaching approach. “BK Urumuri Initiative has already benefited me because of the knowledge I am gaining and I am sure I will continue learning and ask questions where I meet obstacles as I am still in touch with my coaches. “This means that I will continue seeing benefits in the coming years. I can advise any entrepreneur to seize the chance of being part of the BK Urumuri once they see an opportunity because these are trainings that help one to develop and understand well what business is,” said Muhoza.
